AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ciaran gave his cousin a knowing smile which made Kes look away. He seemed highly interested in a spot on the table. Kes was definitely having a harder time than Ciaran accepting what fate had thrown them.
“You will help Etain learn of her family’s past and help her learn to use her magic. Finally, you will give Etain a swift lesson on our realm to help prepare her for what will surely be shocking to her in two nights time. You may not be from this court, but you know of our ways. I’m sure you grew up listening to horror stories about us.”
Anin looked at Ciaran as if she were seeing him for the first time. She was quiet for a moment, likely thinking over his words. “I will tell you what I know of any specific plots against the Night Court and anything directly pertaining to your court. This includes my thoughts on their recent power growth. I will inform you of any spies for the queen and king as well as their inner circle. I will gladly help Etain in any way I can. I find it admirable you demanded help for a human witch as part of a blood oath.” She held Ciaran’s gaze.
He noticed the minor changes making his requests far more specific, yet it sounded like it gave him everything he wanted. He nodded his agreement without acknowledging her…compliment? No one had ever called him admirable, and he wasn’t sure what to do with that.
“Kes, make the arrangements for the blood oath. It would be best if it were completed before the Lunar Ball. Also, make sure Anin is here by first night tomorrow to begin working with Etain.”
Kes knew Ciaran had dismissed them. He got up, strolled over to Anin, and grabbed the nymph’s hand. They promptly disappeared.
Once Ciaran was alone, he went to the stack of books he had pulled earlier. The longer he spent in Etain’s company, the surer he was this was a mate bond. Perhaps this mate bond is what the Many Faced Goddess had been seeing in her prophecy. He found it interesting he, the prince of the Night Court, would find himself a human mate.
Not just any human, but one descending from a powerful line of witches who had been part of this realm for generations. Abandoning his research on mate bonds, he began looking for anything on witches, specifically Walsh witches.
It didn’t take long for him to find an entry from when his great grandfather was a young fae. He described a powerful witch with the darkest red hair. It turned out his great grandfather was quite the miscreant and liked to steal witches for his own evil desires. The head witch did not take kindly to that at all.
She cursed him, and any future lines, with access to only half of their true power. His grandfather went on to castigate the witch and her kind for stealing his power in his writings, but he never said how to break the curse.
Ciaran knew every curse had some way to break it – a way to maintain balance. Typically there is some exaggerated lesson to learn, or sometimes a ridiculous phrase which must be said in a specific way. He felt it all rather tiresome. Ciaran checked more of his ancestors’ journals looking for any pieces to the puzzle this curse had become. He did stumble across another entry several years later from his great grandfather where he mentioned the witch who had cursed him, and subsequently Ciaran himself, had been a Walsh.
Ciaran paused; Etain’s ancestors had caused this problem. He felt his blood start to boil. He could punish her for her ancestors just as her ancestors had done to him. Ciaran let the anger build. Here he was paying a price for his ancestors’ actions while the descendant of the one who cursed him lay sleeping peacefully in his bed. Ciaran’s jaw cracked from the clenching of his teeth.
Letting his rage carry him, he ported to his darkened bedroom and glared down at the witch in his bed. As he stared at her, his rage began to subside. It irritated him; he was no longer in control of himself when it came to his witch. There was no choice. He knew he would always choose her, and that bothered him to no end. Yet, he wasn’t able to be mad about it. How exhausting it was caring for this little human witch.
Ciaran dressed for bed and then climbed under the covers next to his witch. Just as he was beginning to drift off, he felt her roll towards him seeking his heat. He nearly hissed at the shock of her ice cold feet against his legs. He couldn’t understand how her feet always seemed to be cold. Sighing, he draped his wing over her to help keep her warm through the night.
The last thing Ciaran thought was how it wouldn’t be that bad to warm his little witch every night. Even if she had icicles for feet.
Eighteen
Etainwasupearlywith Anin in Ciaran’s study just as the moon was starting to rise again. It was difficult for her to understand the passing of time here. The moon rose in the sky twice a night. Their version of daytime they called “first night.” It was the first pass the moon made across the sky, when it was incredibly large and just as bright as any sun. The second pass it made was a crescent moon much higher in the sky and reminded Etain of nights in the Human Realm.
The problem was the tracking of time, because no matter which moon rose, it did not do so gradually. It shot straight up into the sky and would shoot straight down only to shoot back up again. It didn’t work its way from one end of the sky to the other, and it always rose and set to the west.
“How do you track the passing of time here?” Etain asked Anin.
Anin looked at her as if she were mad. “We don’t. We sleep when we wish, and most events are marked to begin with the rising of the sun or moon depending on which court you are in. We are not as structured as you humans.” She gave a slight shrug as breakfast appeared on the round table where they sat.
Things suddenly appearing was another nuance of the Night Court which Etain was having a hard time getting accustomed. “I’m not sure I will get used to having food this plentiful. Is it like this for all beings of the realm, or is it only because we are in the palace?” Etain thought she would begin to wear on Anin as she kept blurting out a never-ending stream of questions.
Anin was patient and happy to answer them all. “I would say it is like this for most of the realm. Perhaps the only place that may experience some hardships would be the Borderlands between the Day and Night Courts. There has been some fighting over which Court controls the Borderlands; however, it belongs to the witches and not to either court. There are several covens in the middle of the Borderlands running from north to south. They have tried to remain neutral and help maintain the balance for as long as history has been recorded. Unfortunately, the Day Court has been luring more and more witches away to join their court. I am not sure it is of their own free will.
“The politics of this realm is long and convoluted; it would take many of your human years to fully understand. The most important thing to know is neither realm is good, and neither realm is bad. We fae live for a tremendously long time and long lives lead to much mischief. Lesson number one is not to blindly trust anyone’s words. We have had a very long time to learn the art of weaving words to trick and ensnare unsuspecting beings.”
Etain already knew the fae were master manipulators. Her mother made sure Etain knew fae were not to be trusted. She knew to be careful when striking a deal with a fae and to avoid doing so whenever possible. Before Etain could ask another question, Anin began telling her about the horrors of the Night Court and what she should expect at the Lunar Ball.
Etain was not surprised to hear about the cruelty and bloodlust, though she began to lose her appetite. What she was unprepared for was the sexual depravity. Etain was still inexperienced, more from a lack of men to choose from than by choice. She had her first kiss the previous night, and now she was needing to prepare to see overtly public displays of the darker side of sexual activities. Apparently the Night Court is rather fond of mixing pleasure with pain.
Etain felt the flush creep up her face when Anin began to tell her how “pets” wore collars like animals and were led around by leads attached to them. She remembered Ciaran saying something about the members of his court needing to think she was his pet, and how he would need to treat her as such. She was still confused as to why he would need to debase her in such a way. Why could he not introduce her as a guest of his court?
She must have asked this aloud, for Anin explained, “If you are claimed as a pet or even a slave, the rest of the court can not physically touch you unless you belong to someone of a lesser rank. Since we will be presented as the pets of the two strongest fae of the Night Court, none shall be permitted to touch us. If you were a guest, it would leave you open for anyone to play with.”
Etain shouldn’t have been shocked to hear property was regarded with more respect depending on whoownedsaid property, considering that was similar to human standards. It never sat well with Etain how many beings placed objects higher than something living.
“Our humiliation is to be our salvation?” she asked.
Anin gave her a nod with a tight smile. “It will be important we keep our power hidden. If any of Ciaran’s council members or the high court get wind of how powerful you are, or that you are a Walsh witch returned to the realm, it may inspire some to go against the prince in their quest to gain ultimate power and usurp the crown.”
